GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — Hamas has named a shadowy militant commander as its new leader in the Gaza Strip, an official media outlet confirmed on Monday, placing one of the Islamic militant group’s most hard-line figures in charge of its core power base. The appointment of Yehiya Sinwar, who was freed by Israel … Continue reading
NEW YORK (AP) — President Barack Obama and Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi will strategize about the upcoming offensive to take back the northern city of Mosul when they meet on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly. Increasingly, and not without irony, Iraq has become the bright spot in Obama’s campaign against the Islamic … Continue reading
TORONTO (AP) — Canada on Thursday, April 14, introduced a new assisted suicide law that will apply only to citizens and residents, meaning Americans won’t be able to travel to Canada to die. Canadian government officials said a person would have to be eligible for health services in Canada to take advantage of the law, … Continue reading
HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — Vietnam’s pro-business prime minister has effectively withdrawn from a contest to become the Communist Party chief, clearing the way for his rival to keep the post in what appears to be a compromise to present a united front to the nation, delegates at a party congress said Monday. Prime Minister Nguyen … Continue reading
ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — The Turkish prime minister says Turkey has taken delivery of the body of a Russian pilot who was killed after Turkish F-16s shot down a Russian warplane. Ahmet Davutoglu says the pilot’s body was brought to the border province of Hatay “through Turkey’s initiatives” early on Sunday and will be flown … Continue reading
TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Twenty years after Yitzhak Rabin was gunned down by a Jewish extremist opposed to his negotiations with the Palestinians, Israel is more divided than ever over Mideast peacemaking — and the people who opposed the assassinated premier with vitriol, led by Benjamin Netanyahu, now have a firm grip on power. … Continue reading
DAR ES SALAAM, Tanzania (AP) — Five Cabinet members from Tanzania’s ruling party have lost their parliamentary seats, according to partial results released Tuesday by the country’s election commission. They lost to candidates representing an opposition alliance of four parties including Chadema, the main opposition party. Results for the presidential election are trickling in and … Continue reading
CAIRO (AP) — Egyptian authorities granted government workers a half-day off on Monday in an attempt to bolster low turnout in the country’s election for the first legislature since a chamber dominated by Islamists was dissolved by a court ruling in 2012. There were no signs, however, of larger numbers at polling centers. Monday is … Continue reading
KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) — Nepal’s parliament elected Communist party leader Khadga Prasad Oli the new prime minister Sunday, thrusting him into the center of daunting challenges, from ethnic protests over the new constitution that has also upset vital neighbor India to rebuilding from April’s devastating earthquake. Oli received 338 votes from the 597-member chamber, … Continue reading
CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Australia’s new Prime Minister Malcom Turnbull indicated on Monday that he is in no hurry to sever the nation’s constitutional links to Britain by appointing an Australian president as head of state. Turnbull led the Australian Republican Movement when the advocacy group failed at a 1999 referendum to convince Australians to … Continue reading
JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel’s prime minister will convene an emergency meeting over recent Palestinian attacks, an official at his office said Monday, hours after an Israeli died after rocks were thrown at his car and violence broke out at Jerusalem’s most sensitive holy site for a second day in a row. Benjamin Netanyahu will consult … Continue reading
BRUSSELS (AP) — Greece has finally offered economic reforms that creditors consider potentially acceptable, giving Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras a couple days to turn a spirit of goodwill into a deal that might keep the country from a painful exit from the euro currency. Even though a firm deal to get Greece more loans remained … Continue reading
KESSARRAT, Iraq (AP) — Ali Ahsan paced back and forth carrying a rifle more than half his height in the searing heat as his militia convoy made a pit stop in the Anbar desert to rest and pray. Unlike the rugged men in fatigues around him, his prepubescent face has barely sprung a whisker. Now … Continue reading
ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Assailants fired on a campaign vehicle belonging to Turkey’s pro-Kurdish party and killed its driver, officials said Thursday, in the latest violence against politicians or political parties ahead of Sunday’s general election. The governor’s office for Bingol province said the 35-year-old driver was found shot dead near the hired minibus of … Continue reading
BRUSSELS (AP) — Scotland’s top politician warned Tuesday that a future United Kingdom referendum on leaving the European Union could spark a new drive for independence in pro-EU Scotland. First Minister Nicola Sturgeon is calling for a “double-majority” voting system in the referendum planned for 2017 that would require support from the citizens of England, … Continue reading
Spartan Echo 